CHAPTER 72: A FATHER'S LOVE

Chaos ensued as Mason continued to duel Brandon, sending sparks of cosmic force racing for the path of least resistance. A few meters away, Lance's metallic dome continued to take on more and more bombardments of gunfire than it could handle.

Lance, who was huddled inside with the rest of the mercenaries, grit his teeth. He turned to face Frederick, whose face was equally pale as his.

"Hey, can't you maintain this dome for a bit? I'm running out of juice here..."

"..."

Frederick's silence was enough of an answer. Lance clicked his tongue. "Well, shit..."

John glanced over at them and sighed. "If you two want, I can try to use my [Metallurgy-Conjuration] to supplement it? I am not confident it will work, but we can try..."

Lance smiled. "Give it a shot. It's not like we will be better off without it."

John nodded, then closed his eyes. He channeled the cosmic force in his body toward the battered dome. Exotic particles danced in the air and flowed like a river toward the metal, mixing in with the already conjured dome. He then weaved in his [Shape-Morph] ability, allowing the small amounts of metal he had conjured to merge seamlessly with the rest, strengthening the entire structure.

The barrage of ammunition became even more pronounced as the sound of booming explosions rattled their bones. All they could do was sit together and pray to the Monarch that Hermes and Merlin would take out the enemies outside the warehouse.

...

Hermes jabbed his gunblade into an inquisition knight's throat, then slashed it horizontally, leaving an arc of blood in its wake. The man's eyes rolled back as he fell to his knees, dying instantly. Hermes looked at his corpse and frowned.

'That's the 20th one so far. It seems they have noticed our presence now...'

While glancing at Merlin, he witnessed the spectacle of her using levitation to strangle a man by compressing his airway. Noticing his gaze, she looked over and smiled playfully, sending a shiver down Hermes' spine.

'This woman... How can she be so nonchalant at killing?

It completely baffled him. Although Hermes had also gotten used to the act by now, he couldn't help but feel his mouth dry every time he did it. And yet here she was, grinning ear to ear and joking around while both her comrades and enemies die around her.

He looked away from her and nodded. "I can sense a few more approaching. It seems they have noticed us completely now. What do you want to do?"

Letting her hand down, the gravity magic she had cast on the man ended, dropping him to the floor. The foam emanating from his mouth was unmistakable; he had suffered greatly before dying.

She patted her clothes and adjusted her hat. "Hm... I guess we can just wait for them here. Most of them are only Stage 1-2 Celestials, anyway. With me being your support, they won't stand a chance."

He nodded, "I agree. But what if they take too long to group up? Lance and Frederick are waiting for us."

She smiled. "Are you worried about them?"

The question made him tilt his neck to the side. "Of course I am... You aren't?"

She snapped her fingers and teleported right next to Hermes. "It's not that I am not worried about them, I am just completely confident that they will be okay~"

He furrowed his brows. "And why is that?"

With a grin, she flicked his forehead. "Idiot, have you not thought about why this ambush happened in the first place?"

Rubbing his glabella, Hermes' eyes narrowed. 'Why the ambush happened? What is she implying...' He looked back up at her, "Give me a hint, please."

She sighed, "I thought you were brighter than this... Fine. Think about it, you meeting us today was forwarded to whom, exactly?"

He tried to remember, "Wasn't it John? He controls the secure channels you guys used to communicate with the Valencourt fa- Wait..." His eyes widened at the idea floating in his head. "You don't mean..."

She snapped her fingers, "Bingo!"

...

Inside the make shift dome shield, John continued to pour his cosmic force into the turtle shell they were dwelling inside when suddenly, cracks began to form. His eyes widened as he looked over at Lance and Frederick.

"This... It's becoming unstable!"

Frederick bit his tongue. "John, stop pouring yer cosmic force into it!"

"I-I can't! It's siphoning off uncontrollable! Your [Conjure-Gadget] and my [Metallurgy-Conjuration] has unmatched Ethyric Ratios! The entire thing is going to collapse! Brace yourselves!"

As soon as he said that, Lance smirked. "It will be fine, don't worry." As soon as the bullets punctured holes into the metallic shielding, the ground beneath them caved in, making them all fall deep below the flooring and into the underground sewage system. Up above, the hole that had been formed slowly closed as Frederick and Lance continued to pour out their cosmic force into it.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

Soon, the deafening sound of gunfire become muffled. They had descended into pure darkness. Lance sighed in relief while inspecting the others. "Is everyone okay?"

They all nodded while awkwardly trying to stop themselves from smelling the awful scent emanating around them. Lance nodded back at them and turned to face ahead. "Lets use these tunnels to move away from the warehouse and find an exit. I am pretty sure those bastards are still sneaking around here..."

He walked through the tunnel with all the other mercenaries behind him. Suddenly, he stopped in his place. His neck tilted backward, facing John and the others. John noticed the peculiarity and tilted his neck to the side. "Yes?"

Lance said nothing. He immediately pulled out his SV pistol and aimed it at John's chest, shooting him three times. John's eyes widened as his body fell backwards, blood slipping out from the holes forming in his chest. Coughing violently, his eyes shifted toward Lance, who was slowly approaching him. His eyes were sharper than daggers, but a hint of melancholy hid underneath his stoic gaze.

"Why...." John asked.

Lance squatted down to his level and frowned. "That's what I want to ask... Why did you betray us?"

The moment Lance said that, John's eyes flinched. "How... How did you find out..."

"It was fairly obvious... From the very beginning, you were the only one with control over our communication devices. Our crew is very disjointed. We rarely group up for occasions unless the mission brief is highly important. For the inquisition knights to know that today was the day we would meet, had to mean there was a traitor leaking our information..."

John stayed silent while Lance continued. "Besides, you mentioning how you sent your daughter outside the capital was also very suspicious... My brother would have already told me about such a thing occurring, but I have not received any messages from him lately."

John closed his eyes. "I see... I guess I was too obvious..."

Lance's frown deepened. He leaned in closer. "Old man John... Be honest with me... As much as you hated my brother, you never opposed the relationship he had with your daughter... Why did you do this? Does it have to do with Emily?..."

Blood began to pour out of John's mouth as his breathing became less frequent. His skin was rapidly turning pale by the second. He opened his eyes and gazed into Lance's.

"They kidnapped Emily and your brother."

Lance's eyes widened, but he stayed silent. John continued. "I had no choice but to comply with their orders. Emily is all I have left... I-I am sorry..." tears began to pour out in droves. "I am sure they have freed her by now... When you meet her, please tell her I loved her..."

Lance's eyes began to quiver as he closed them. Suddenly, large tumors began to appear on John's body. John noticed it and began to panic.

"What... What the hell is happening... To me..."

Frederick's eyes widened. "Move!" He pulled Lance by his collar and ran toward the rest of the mercenaries. In seconds, he conjured a large tower shield, allowing them all to hide behind it.

-Boom!

Guts and entrails rained down from the sky as the scent of blood mixed with that of manure, creating an unearthly odor. Lance and the others watched in horror as John's body was reduced to minced meat and flesh.

Lance grit his teeth... "A fucking flesh bomb!" He stomped his foot against the curb. "That fucker, Brandon... He is definitely behind it! No wonder Merlin told me to shoot him in the chest... That could have gotten much worse..."

Frederick looked at the floor and frowned. "Ye think he already had it planned to discard him?"

Lance rubbed his temples while gritting his teeth. "Most definitely... They used him till the end... Fucking inhuman bastards... Brother... Emily... My heart is telling me they were both handed the same cruel fate..."

Frederick tried to comfort him. "It's not confirmed yet...."

Lance's face contorted in a way that even his own cheek muscles couldn't handle as he reloaded his SV pistol. "Lets move... I'd rather not think about it. I just want to shed some blood in John's name right now."

Not a single person there disagreed with that statement.

...

Mason fired off a volley of plasma beams toward Brandon, who dodged them all like a snake. His grin widened as he closed the distance between him and Mason. Observing his approach, Mason's eyes narrowed. He immediately used [Gadget-Morph] to liquify the metal in his halberd, shaping it like a large tower shield. Brandon side swiped it, letting sparks fly across its surface. He then rebalanced himself and shot back toward Mason, his eyes primed at its prey.

Mason shifted the axis of his body, allowing the tower shield to rotate with him. Brandon's body left afterimages in its wake as it pounced forward. Seeing his approach, Mason grinned, "Got you!"

He swiftly used [Gadget-Morph] again, turning the tower shield into a large cage. Brandon's eyes widened when he noticed this, but it was too late. He couldn't readjust his body mid air, landing directly inside the cage. Withing hesitation, Mason closed it, trapping Brandon inside.

The smile that was once plastered across his face turned into a frown. "You!"

Mason laughed. "How are you going to use your speed inside here?" Without letting him respond, he cast his cosmic force into the cage, activating [Gadget-Morph] once more. Spikes began to form within the closed off chamber. To his horror, Brandon stood helpless, watching on as the trap he landed in slowly transformed into an iron maiden; its intricate rods began to pierce him from all directions, burrowing deep into his flesh. He screamed in terror!

"Ahhhhh!!!"

Mason began to pant heavily. "What's wrong? I thought they called you Brandon the Impaler? How many 'heretics' have you done this exact same thing to?"

Brandon continued to drown in pain as his eyes slowly rolled to the back of his head. His wails, however, did not last very long. Mason squinted his eyes as he watched Brandon's once terror-gripped face twist into a perverted smile... He... Was enjoying the torture...

"Ahhh... How wonderful..." One eye after the other creepily shifted back into place as he cast his gaze onto Mason, who was frowning. "You are pretty good at this..."

Before Mason had anytime to answer him, Brandon's body liquified into a mass of flesh and guts. Mason's eyes widened. He swiftly jumped back, readying himself for whatever Brandon had in store for him.

Brandon's liquified, fleshy body seeped through the cracks of the cage before merging back together into his human form. He quickly began to swipe the dust off his naked body, his face grinning from ear to ear.

Mason squinted his eyes. "A flesh slime... Is that what you consumed when you first became a Druid?"

Brandon nodded, "Indeed. It was a fairly lucky encounter. Unlike the rest of the mutants available, flesh slimes are very versatile... But I guess you already know what I mean by that, right? You heard the explosion that happened earlier."

Mason frowned. "You bastard... A flesh bomb? You planted it into John..."

Brandon clapped his hands. "Marvelous... You even knew who the traitor was. Was it that Merlin lass? I should have known better. Mystics are very hard to fool..."

Mason grit his teeth, "Let me guess... You threatened him with his daughter... Right? I have known John all my life; he wouldn't betray us that easily..."

With a showman's smirk, Brandon bowed his head and exclaimed, "Correct! It's really funny, he thought I would spare his daughter if he completed the mission I gave him, but I already had my fun with her! Ah, just remembering the screams she made while I was dissecting her was so invigorating! I even made her little boyfriend watch. The face he made was priceless!"

Mason looked down at the floor and closed his eyes. He refused to talk any longer to the thing standing before him. He could no longer even regard it as a human being. Cosmic force surged from his body. The waves crashed against the building, rattling it to its core. It was as if an earthquake had erupted.

Brandon looked down at his hands; they were shaking. "I see. I finally made you mad!"

End of Chapter